SYDNEY, June 20 (Xinhua) -- A health alert for measles has been issued for Sydney after a confirmed case traveled through the city's international airport while infectious.
The health department in the state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Friday that the confirmed case arrived in Sydney from Southeast Asia, where there are ongoing outbreaks of measles in several countries, on Monday.
Anyone who was on board Vietnam Airlines flight VN773 that arrived at the Sydney International Airport on Monday or who was in the airport's arrivals and baggage collection areas between 8:00-9:30 a.m. on the same day has been advised to monitor for symptoms of measles.
Mitchell Smith, the acting director of Public Health for the South Western Sydney Local Health District, said that initial symptoms include fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough followed days later by a rash that spreads from the face to the rest of the body.
He said that it is important for anyone who was on the flight or in those areas of the airport to monitor for symptoms for 18 days.
According to data from the federal government's National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, there have been 80 confirmed cases of measles in Australia so far in 2025 compared to 57 cases for the entirety of 2024 and 26 in 2023. ■
